Day 22: On the Road Again

Today we started toward home. We rode from Willits, CA, to Roseville, CA, along CA Hwy 20 and CA Hwy 65. 

The day started with a low back tire on my bike. Now, I just got a new back tire in Sturgis, so this was a little upsetting. We limped the bike the 2 miles into Willits and the nearest gas station to fill the tire with air. Donna checked the tire after I filled it and, sure enough, there was a metal object in the tire. After stopping at one of the only tire shops in town, we found out that the nearest motorcycle tire would be in Ukiah -- about 25 miles south of where we were. 

Since we hadn't eaten dinner the night before, we stopped at the Lumberjack Restaurant for breakfast again and started the search for motorcycle shops in Ukiah. 

The first place I called had a tire that would fit my bike. After we finished breakfast, we checked my tire pressure again to be sure it was holding pressure, then headed for Ukiah. We took it slow and easy, not wanting to be going too fast in case the tire started losing pressure. Luckily, the tire held the pressure and we made it to Motorsports of Ukiah safely. 

Well, I didn't have a nail in my tire, but I did have the end of a very sharp wood screw in it. I added the piece to my fetish bag. Luckily, my tire has a tube and I didn't have to replace the entire tire, just the tube, so it cost me less than I anticipated. 

After the tire was fixed, we took off east on CA Hwy 20. We went around Lake Mendocino and over the Russian River. Neither had much water in them, evidence of the drought in the area. The wind had picked up and the temperature had gone up considerably by the time we reached Clear Lake. We pulled over at Davis Rest Stop to find a warning about the water. 

We could see the algae mats all over the lake. A few days before, we had heard that the lake had a distinctive odor and was polluted. We could see the pollution, but the wind must have kept the aroma to a minimum.

The wind made riding around the lake a bit of a challenge. For the most part, the wind was behind us, but we would get some wind gusts from the lake that would try to push us around. The traffic had also started to pick up. And some of those drivers had no problem tailgating the bikes. We used the turnouts often, but not often enough for one moron. He almost got into a head-on collision right next to me when he tried to pass us in a no-passing zone -- and we were less than 2 miles from a passing lane.

After a long and hot ride through the drought stricken areas, we made it safely to our hotel in Roseville with only one major delay. We were held up for about 30 to 45 minutes because of an accident about 10 miles east of Williams, CA. 

My sister, Robyn, and her family (Scott, Alex, and Joe) drove up to have dinner with us. It was nice to sit down to a nice meal and talk. 

Tomorrow my brother Jim and his wife Kiki are coming up to have brunch. After brunch, Donna and I head to Reno for the night as we make our way east toward home. 


Mileage today: 186.7
Jae's trip total: 3523.0
Donna's trip total: 3515.2